Our California days are numbered but...

A couple weeks ago I had the flu. Well, it was more like a nasty fever. I was stuck on the couch and any movement wasn't worth the effort. Let me make it clear: Leila is not allowed on any furniture! And she is not a lap dog. It's not that we don't wish she wanted to sit next to us on the floor she just doesn't. She will lay on her bed or elsewhere. But when you are sick that's a different story. Leila broke the rules and made me feel a little better.

The other day we had a friend over and her three kids. These kids call me Mr. Lyon and that's kinda weird for me. I had the privileged of helping them hang their Christmas lights back in December and really, they just wanted to get on the roof.

Below, this is what you don't want to do. This says, "jump up for my hands!"

They wanted to be in the Leila's cage and our pup was a bit confused. She loves kids gets so excited when they are around. Our dog trainer says it's because they are both adolescents and she wants to play with them. I always get excited and nervous at the same time when kids arrive at the dog park. An opportunity to practice.

Even when she is resting she is watching. The dobe in her is intense. She does nothing with half effort. One minute she is half asleep the next she is destroying the cricket that made it's way into the house. We did have a bug problem but Leila made that her hobby. She truly is a watchdog.

Well, it's over. Katie did it! She ran her half marathon in 2:11! She expected 2:30. She started in a slower group and had to do a lot of maneuvering of other runners. This slowed her down a bit.

Katie ran it with Rae. They trained together almost everyday- 4 miles, 6 miles, 8 miles, 10 miles.

My classmate and friend Stacey also ran the race. She was the two hour pacer. I parked at her house in the morning and we road bikes to the race because traffic was so bad near the beach.

Kates group started in the 7000-7999 group. She is somewhere in there.

And their off!!
Below, mile three.
Stacey with the 2:00hr sign at mile 9.
Katie and Rae at mile 9. Still lookin' good!
The finishers. Daniel, Jeff, Rae and Katie. Daniel and Jeff did the full marathon. They all finished around the same time. They started way earlier.
Running along the Pacific Coast Highway next to the ocean.
With all the biking and photos I took trying to keep up with them I was almost just as tired.
Yesterday we had a yard sale. It was the strangest sale i've ever been a part of. We started at 730am and didn't get a single person til 10am. That was when we wanted to wrap it up. My neighbor and I talked most of the time. He was trying to sell a manual fishing boat thingy and changed his mind and said you will get more out of this in Washington than anyone down here. So he gave it to me. He also gave me the cargo box below. I was blown away! In almost three hours of trying to sell my stuff I made 20 cents (the guy didn't have 5 more cents...cheap a#@.) and gained a boat and storage carrier. Strange huh?!


Leila had a visitor. Leo. A Jack Russell Rat Terrier mix. He is fast! And Leila is top heavy and still growing into her legs. It was quite funny watching her try to take sharp corners with him.
One of Leila's bet qualities- she is sensitive to the other dogs size. With big dogs she stands upright but with smaller ones she will play at their level.




Give her a straight line though and she will catch you.

And Caught.

Leo wiped her out.

Life slows down the next couple weeks. No major plans. Just packing and putting the finishing touches on our three year California trip. In the end for those of you who don't keep up with your blogs I can honestly say it is worth it. I have our whole time here documented.